I knew you'd come! I'm so pleased to have you! I’m Bri. You can find me in the kitchen. And if not there, at my writing table, which is also in my kitchen. So…!! I love cooking with my beau, conversations that fill the heart to brimming, smiling and pink lipstick. I have bangs for days and that’s the way I like it.

Plantain Chips – A Paleo Chip for Your Guacamole

I don’t know what did it friends, but goodness we were on a Mexican food kick this past week.

We had a Mexican fiesta night two nights this past week. And I am ready for round three!

As we were planning out our little Mexican fiesta I remembered a gem of recipe. Plantain chips. They. Are. Yummy. They are so easy and they are the perfect vehicle for your guacamole.

Now, plantains. They seem to be confused about their identity. In fact if you haven’t seen a plantain before, well, you probably have. And you may have made the mistake I made and thought, “That poor overgrown and too-green-for-its-own-good banana.”

They fooled us! They are not an under-ripe banana, although they do belong to the banana family. And in the culinary world they are sometimes referred to as cooking bananas. Because you have to cook a plantain – they are not very delicious raw.

Whenever I am in South America I find them in abundance and they always make their appearance in most meals.

The thing is, they are not super sweet like a banana. And they are not super soft or mushy either. They are more firm. Perfect for cooking with. Perfect to turn into a chip ;)

Making plantain chips are simple and it takes no time at all.

Making Plantain Chips

Grab one plantain. (This made enough chips for the two of us. Use two plantains if you are feeding 4 or more.)

Remove the plantain peel and slice it thinly. This will allow them to crisp up nicely.

Heat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in your fry pan. Once it heats up (you will see ripples in the oil when you slightly tip the pan) start adding the sliced plantains. It took me two batches.

Now, here is where you have to find what you prefer. Beau and I love our plantain chips extra crispy – so I tend to let them get a deep brown color.

A good rule for the first go around is to let them fry on each side for about 1 ½ to 2 minutes or flip them when they turn golden brown on the edges.

As soon as they are done remove them to a plate covered in paper towels and salt them. You must salt them right away so the salt will grab on!

Looking at that extra crispy one. I cannot believe Beau waited long enough to take a picture before he snatched him up!

Taste a few and see what consistency you like. Extra crispy? Crispy on the outside but still a little soft on the inside? Let your taste buds be your guide.

And then HIGH KICK! Look at those delicious, crispy, salty-goodness chips. Now, on our second batch we lightly sprinkled them with some paprika and cayenne powder for a kick. We loved them! Just another option…

Once you are done serve them immediately with your guacamole.

Now, I said immediately. Do you hear me? The downside to plantain chips is they do not keep long. After about an hour we noticed they started to lose their crispiness and began to soften up. And they definitely did not farewell overnight. So, you eat all of those right now. Immediately. That is all.

Enjoy!

Plantain Chips

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Total time: 15 mins

Serves: 1-3

Ingredients

1 plantain (2 plantains for 4 or more people)

3 Tbs coconut oil

salt

paprika (optional)

cayenne pepper (optional)

Instructions

Peel the plantain and slice it very thinly.

Heat the coconut oil in a fry pan.

At this point, if you want to slightly dust your plantains with paprika and/or cayenne pepper, do that now.

Add the plantains to the heated oil.

Fry for about 1 1/2 minutes on each side (or until it reaches your preferred level of crispiness).

Remove the plantains from the oil and onto a plate covered in paper towels.

Salt immediately.

Notes

*These do not keep well overnight and they start to soften up after about an hour so be sure to serve and eat them immediately after you make them!

Jacob -Have had plantain chips at a restaurant in Florida – served with Citrus butter. They cut them “long ways” though. Will definitely give this a shot, thanks!ReplyCancel

Lisat -I just found you on Pinterest .your blog has inspired me to give paleo a try… Will a paleo diet help me lose weight ? Never had a weight problem until I had my boys. Zach is ten & max is seven . I eat a pretty healthy diet & love to cook but know I could eat a lot better. If I had one of your smoothies for breaky and lunch & then one of your paleo dinners, would that be sufficient for a healthy day? I know your not a doctor but you seem to be really on top of it nutrition wise . If you had time maybe you could give me a few paleo tips. Thank you So much. Your blog was just what I needed today as I was starting to feel hopeless about ever losing any more weight ! ( oh yeah, need to lose about 35 more pounds…

Bri McKoy-Hi Lisa! Wow! You are really going for it and I am excited for you! Unfortunately, I would need to know so much more about your daily activities, your weight and just your body in general to answer your questions :) And even then, I am not a registered nutritionist or dietitian! I will say, when I started the Paleo journey I wanted to make sure I was eating enough to stay full and active (I was never hungry – I did crave sugar, but I was not hungry). Most people who have a Paleo lifestyle do lose weight because the idea behind Paleo is eating what your body can fully process. I typically turn to Mark’s Daily Apple when I have specific questions pertaining to health and the Paleo/Primal lifestyle. You can find him here: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/ I hope that helps! If anything, I noticed quite a difference in my energy level and my overall health of mind when I started eating healthier! I hope your experience that too!ReplyCancel

Judy Vancleave -Made these chips and sprinkled c bit of cumin and salt at the end. I squeezed lime over them on the plate. Very good!ReplyCancel

Steph C. -Hi, just made a version like yours (but baked and cut on long diagonals) and searching for how to store these. Since I am the only 1 eating these in my home, I have to store. So, I made up 2 batches and put in freezer. Then, they were moist, wimpy, slightly hard= yuck! I popped them in the toaster oven for 2 mins each side. They definitely hardened up! I think they might break my teeth just after they cooled! At least it is something like a cracker or a chip, since I will be on a grain, gluten, egg, dairy, soy, seed free and low acid diet! Hopefully only 8 weeks until I begin healing!

Marti Anderson -i had this in D C this last week-OMG! who would have thought! I highly recommend this to all! The Plantains were cut lengthwise.ReplyCancel

steph c. -Dear Bri, I was looking back over my comment and your recipe (when I got a notification of new comment) and I noticed that you fry yours in the coconut oil. Can I change my rating of your recipe? Because I think that would make a huge difference vs. baked!
I’m also wondering if I buy the plantain, cut it and freeze slices individually (spread out in a single layer on foil until frozen; so I can just pour them out of bag) before frying, if it would actually work? Why do you only season at end?
Lastly, I need to find a way to do this again soon, to get back off grains. I became an empty-nester, so that meant I lost my sweet caregivers. I went back on grains for both time and financial reasons, and now my chronic pain conditions have worsened. I use these for scooping tuna, hummus and home-grown/made salsa: staples for a fast grain-free lunch!
Any advice appreciated.ReplyCancel

Jennie LaValley -Thanks for your Paleo Recipes for healthy lifestyle, I am a diabetic and am trying really hard to eat healthy. I think that your recipes will be a big help especially when entertaining. Promoting a better wY of preparing healthy foods. Thanks you!
Please put me on your mailing list.ReplyCancel

Bri McKoy-Hi Jennie! I am so grateful that you shared a little piece of your story. I hope you enjoy these recipes!ReplyCancel